The Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park housese 150 free-flying tropical birds & 500 kinds of exotic plants inside an historic triodetic dome.
Constructed through a donation from Prentice Bloedel, the aviary was dedicated at its opening in 1969 “to a better appreciation and understanding of the world of plants.”
If you’re in the area, see if you can spot the budgies.
On Saturday someone on my neighborhood facebook page posted about a little loose budgie.
Harry and took a cage, some seed and some water out to where he was last seen.
We played budgie calls on my phone, hoping he would hear and come back to the area. We had no luck, but people walking by said they had seen him over the past couple days. So we decided we would try again the next day.
We set up in the same spot and waited. A man walking by said he saw the budgie across the street. And there he was! Someone had set up a little dish of seed and water and he was hanging out there.
Harry almost got him, but he was very skittish. We watched him fly back and forth, trying to follow a hummingbird.
Here’s a little video – he’s the white spot in the middle of the bush.
Harry has been back every day trying to get the little bird. He didn’t see him yesterday, but he saw him today.
Someone else recently posted these photos of him, so he is still in the neighborhood. Harry will try again tomorrow.
Hopefully, someone can manage to catch the wiley little guy.
The third Friday in May is Endangered Species Day. It is a day to learn about and take action to protect threatened and endangered species. In honor of this day, Cooper is donating to Kākāpō Recovery.
Kākāpō Recovery combines the efforts of scientists, rangers, volunteers and donors to protect the critically endangered kākāpō. Sadly, there are only 199 kākāpō alive today.
If you would like to help out, you can donate here.
Cooper hopes that one day there will be no need for an Endangered Species Day.
Last week a small flock of budgies were found on a Laguna Niguel trail. Mission Viejo Animal Services arrived and rounded up the budgies. The budgies were not able to fly and some appeared to have been injured by large birds.
The birds were fed and given water, given names and examined. They will be put up for adoption.
If you should find yourself unable to care for your birds, please do not set them free. Budgies are not likely to survive in the wild. Finding food and water is problematic, and they are likely to be attacked by animals and other birds.
Taking them to a shelter or rescue is their best chance for finding a safe, happy home.
You can read more about the budgies here.
We had a little friend pay us a visit.
A little internet sleuthing tells me it’s a Lesser Goldfinch. I took a little video of it outside the window. It seemed very interested in what was going on in the bird room.
The Detroit Animal Welfare Group in Michigan took in hundreds of budgies dropped off by the son of an animal hoarder. The birds had been kept in one room and several are in rough shape.
The first day, 497 budgies were dropped off. An additional 339 budgies were dropped off the following day.
The budgies are currently being quarantined and will be looked at by veterinarians. A few bird rescue groups have come forward to assist in caring for the budgies. You can read more here.
If you are in the area and looking to adopt a budgie, please keep these little ones in mind.
If you would like to contribute to their care (food/vet costs) you can do so by clicking these links:
Detroit Animal Welfare Group and here is a link to follow the birds’ progress:
https://www.facebook.com/DetroitAnimalWelfareGroup
Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab and here is a link to follow the birds’ progress: https://www.facebook.com/birdsandbeaks/
Someone came by to say, “Hello!”
Can you spot Sido’s visitor?
Today is #GivingTuesday. Cooper decided she wanted to use the money she has made from her Redbubble shop to donate to her local bird rescue, Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary.
If you want to help out Free Flight you can make donations here. The Conrad Prebys Foundation will generously DOUBLE every dollar, up to $25,000.
They also have an Amazon Wish List here.
Cooper has a shop on Redbubble. She donates a percentage of her sales to her favorite bird rescues. Last year Cooper decided to adopt a turkey through Farm Sanctuary. This year she decided to adopt again.
You can read more about Farm Sanctuary here.
Cooper recommends skipping the turkey this Thanksgiving. It’s all about the sides anyway.
You can read more about this study here.